Most of us know about birthright citizenship, but not many people have ever heard of Wong Kim Ark and the landmark Supreme Court decision that decided both his fate and the fate of a U.S. immigration policy that endures to this day. 

This episode was originally produced for the Civics 101 podcast by New Hampshire Public Radio.

In New Hampshire, possession of small amounts of cannabis was decriminalized in 2017.

But for those who already have possession charges, getting their record cleared might not be so easy.

This episode was originally produced for New Hampshire Public Radio's Second Greatest Show on Earth.

It's the summer of 2020, and I’m interning as a radio producer at New Hampshire Public Radio, working on a podcast called Outside/In. We’re working on a story about urban trees.

“Are there any old podcast episodes about urban trees?” I ask my fellow producers.

Yes, they tell me – Ginkgo Stink. I was excited to know there was an episode about this tree, because I've got a personal relationship to it. But there was one problem with it, a big problem. This episode, Ginkgo Love, addresses that problem, and tells my personal story about ginkgo trees.

Episode Guests: Anita Mannur

Kathy Peterson was a political science lecturer, until she decided one day to do something different. So she asked for a job from the director of Cass Community Social Services in Detroit. What the director had for her...wasn't what she was expecting.

This story was first reported in December 2019, before the Coronavirus pandemic in the US. This episode includes an update reported in May 2020 at the end.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

Tanya Benson is raising her children and launching a baking business out of her house – a property she doesn't own and isn't renting. She and her family of five are squatting in the abandoned house, just one of many in their Detroit neighborhood. The Benson family has invested a lot of energy and money into the house – a huge risk by any measure, as they have no legal claim to the property, and could be forcibly removed at any moment. But their story may end happily as perceptions about squatters and housing change in the city of Detroit.

This episode was produced by Rae Solomon and Felix Poon. Music from Blue Dot Sessions.

James Chad-Lewis Clay, who goes by "Chad," was released from prison last summer after serving two years in Michigan's Macomb Correctional Facility for a crime he didn't commit. For the first time since leaving prison, he's found stability in Detroit, with the help of the organization, Innocence Maintained.

If you'd like, you can donate to Innocence Maintained at their website innocencemaintained.org.

Music in this episode licensed from Blue Dot Sessions.

This episode was produced by Felix Poon with Emma Bowman.

John Lam is the first Vietnamese American male principal dancer, and the most senior dancer with the Boston Ballet. He has a loving husband and two sons, and gushes about life. So what does this successful family man struggle with the most? His family—the one back home in California who don't quite get him or the life he lives.

Music used in this episode:

• End Title (Little Children) by Thomas Newman
• Les Enfants Terrible: Elizabeth Chooses a Career by Philip Glass
• Facades by Philip Glass
• Piano accompaniment recorded at the Boston Ballet
• Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions

For more information about this episode, visit the website at Felixity.org. You can support me at Patreon.com/FelixityPodcast, and follow the show on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

What's changed because of the pandemic? And how is it different for different people? In this first episode of the Felixity podcast, I talk to a few people to find out.

Links

• Passim Emergency Artist Relief (PEAR) Fund website
• Stop AAPI Hate reporting website

Professor Russell Jeung interview tape from WBEZ Chicago.

Cover art by Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom. See more of her work on her Instagram and Patreon.

Music used in this episode:

• Alpaca Noir by Rob Flax
• "Ex Tenebris Lux" by Rob Flax
• Yellow Peril by DJ Seoul Train
• Stand By Me by Ben E King

For more information about this episode, visit the website at Felixity.org. You can support me at Patreon.com/FelixityPodcast, and follow the show on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Preview Felixity, a podcast about resilience.

Each month, host and producer Felix Poon brings you stories about people—their joys, their heartaches, and how they're forging ahead.

Find out more at Felixity.org, and follow the show on social media:

Facebook.com/FelixityPodcast
Instragram.com/FelixityPodcast
Twitter.com/FelixityPodcast